TOWN OF NORTH HEMPSTEAD ACCEPTS OWNERSHIP OF NINE PARKS AND 12 ROADS FROM NASSAU COUNTY

(Manhasset, NY April 4) – North Hempstead Supervisor Jon Kaiman announced today that the Town and Nassau County had reached agreement on an historic deal to transfer the ownership of nine County parks and 12 County roads to the Town of North Hempstead. “The County Executive and I took a fresh look at how our local resources should be utilized and we came up with this mutually beneficial plan,” said Supervisor Kaiman. “The Town of North Hempstead will acquire responsibility over parks and roads that fit within our purview in our ordinary course of business and the county will maintain access to these resources without having to pay to maintain them.”

The plan will save county taxpayers millions of dollars and give local control of key parks, roads and land to the Town. The deal calls for more than 230 acres to be transferred, 26 lane miles of roadways, and two non-park Nassau County properties.

“The Town of North Hempstead will benefit by gaining more control over local parks, roads and land,” County Executive Thomas R. Suozzi said. “We hope this agreement will serve as a model for how the county can work together with local towns and villages for the benefit of all taxpayers.”

As part of the agreement, Nassau County will no longer be required to resurface the 12 roads transferred enabling the County Department of Public Works to reallocate approximately $337-thousand in staffing resources to other services. Under the plan, the County will provide North Hempstead with $3,075,000 for the repairs and maintenance of the parks and roads. Of this amount, $1,075,000 was already appropriated in the 2007 budget. The remaining $2-million will be derived from 2006 surplus resources and submitted to the Legislature for consideration as part of the year-end budget transfer package.

The Town is committed to a minimum investment of $5-million for further restoration of the nine park facilities. Presently, the TONH spends about one-third of its operating budget on parks and roads.

The following is a list of roads being transferred:

GardenStreet

I.U. Willets Road

LincolnAvenue

Locust Lane

Maple Avenue

Valley Road

PlandomeRoad

WarnerAvenue

Shore Road

WillowdaleAvenue

Prospect Avenue

MainStreet

Parks that will transfer are:

·BeaconHill

· HempsteadHarbor Park

· HerricksBallfield

· SagamoreBallfield

· Carle PlaceVeterans’ Memorial

· Whitney PondPark(includes pool)

· Manhasset Valley Park

· Roslyn RoadPark

· PlandomePark

Nassau County residents will now enjoy the same access as North Hempstead residents to Bar Beach in Port Washington,which has been separated from the County-run Hempstead Harbor Park. County parks being transferred will remain open to all Nassau County residents.

The Town of North Hempstead is expected to begin operating the County parks and roadways in September, 2007, pending approval by the Nassau County Legislature.Furthermore, transfer of the ownership of the parks requires approval by the New York State Legislature.